Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to increase the number of hours of training for armed forces personnel on the security risks of using private social media.

The Ministry of Defence does not have any plans to update military law regarding the use of social media by Armed Forces personnel.

Policy and guidance on the use of social media is set out in the MOD’s Acceptable Use Policy (JSP 740), which is available to all armed forces personnel. The MOD recognises the importance of educating personnel on the security risks of social media and runs both security awareness campaigns and online learning programs. The MOD has recently introduced new cyber security training for all personnel that includes a module on social media and will continue to use different communication means to reinforce the message.